Derry Defends Barton

SHAUN Derry has moved to defend QPR skipper Joey Barton after his hot reception in W12 on Wednesday

Barton himself admitted that his display was without question poor, but the reception reserved by some frustrated supporters was evident on the evening.

The midfielder still clapped the fans as he left the field, despite the evident loud jeers coming from a section of the crowd.

Derry believes that his captain's commitment is not in question and has asked R's fans to lay off the devisive skipper.

He told the Evening Standard: 'As players you hear what goes off in the stands.

'It has been a very frustrating season for everyone connected with the club.

'But when that third goal went in you looked at the bench and Joey was on (substitute goalkeeper) Radek Cerny`s shoulders. That tells a story for me.'

He continued: 'He is fully behind this side, the squad, and the club. His commitment is there. Granted, he didn`t have his best game against Liverpool and he is probably having a bit of sticky time at the minute, but he will hold his hands up and say that.

'Like him or loathe him he is a very honest character. And when you are in that situation you kind of feel you are playing with blinkers on.

'You are so concerned with trying to get that next pass right that it takes away what your real game is.

'But Joey has a great pedigree at this level and I`m sure he will get through it. He is there for the boys, is one of the lads in the dressing room and we are fully behind him.'

His defence of Barton comes hot off the heels of his own excellent performance, seeing him boss vast proportions of the second period against Liverpool alongside Samba Diakité.

He capped off a busy performance with a goal, the first of his QPR career, to all but cement his place on the park this weekend against Sunderland.